Cling
by Sisco
Summary: KakaIru. Kakashi brings home an unexpected gift. So why isn't Iruka happy about it?
1. Chapter 1

**Cling**

By: Sisco

Beta: ZheM

Disclaimers: Meh. This is really getting tiring. I DON'T OWN KAKASHI OR IRUKA!!! Karasu is mine…and Zhe's. She's da hoe though! Lmao!

X x X

So this is why Kakashi was acting like he was walking on glass, as if he might set off something that could risk his life. Especially around Iruka. It was all rather confusing until _this_ happened.

Iruka fumed internally as he gave a forced grin to his soon to be ex-lover standing outside on his porch. "Eight years, huh?"

Kakashi gave a nervous smile, his eye curving only slightly in an inverted 'U'. "H-Hai, Iruka-love." Even though he couldn't see the storm about to rain upon him from the Chuunin, he could sense it steadily approaching. "Iruka…huh…I can explain this."

Iruka's smile broadened as an unhealthy tick formed over his left eyebrow. "What is there to explain?" His voice was on the edge of breaking and Kakashi didn't miss it.

The silver haired-nin could tell his life was hanging by a thread the longer he stood there jabbering like an idiot. "I didn't know, Iruka."

"That's why there is certain things called protection!" Iruka finally let out in a spectacular flash of fury. "I can't believe this! You've had a son for eight years…"

"That I didn't know I had," Kakashi repeated defensively and desperately. "She told me she couldn't get pregnant when we…yah know." He scratched the back of his neck anxiously as he peered down at the unmoving boy beside him. The kid didn't even seem phased by the other man's outbursts. If anything, he seemed quite fascinated. "She was a whore for crying out loud!"

Iruka's eyes widened with disbelief. "And you believed her? Were you seriously plastered back then or severely naïve?"

Kakashi had the decency to appear insulted. He hadn't been drunk the last time he checked, and he definitely knew for certain that he hadn't been naïve... Maybe too trusting was the correct usage. "Ah…come on, Iruka. Can't we disgust this in our apartment…where people aren't staring at us?"

The dark skinned Chuunin growled viciously under his breath as he reluctantly stepped aside to allow them in. He took a cursory glance at the boy, noticing the shock of silver hair that was trimmed almost in the same style as Kakashi's. He had to admit, he was a cute kid. _No! Focus! You're angry with Kakashi, remember? _

Iruka watched as Kakashi made himself comfortable in the recliner next to the window, his usual spot. The child climbed into his lap to observe his surroundings, but mostly Iruka.

Kakashi appeared a bit baffled that the eight year old would choose him for sitting on. And not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his arms around the smaller frame and hugged him to his chest. "I couldn't just leave him at an orphanage, Iruka, especially if he at least has another living relative."

The Chuunin seemed dazed by the familial picture in his living room, his eyes unfocused, but softer. "Huh? Oh, no. I understand, Kakashi," he murmured. Wasn't he supposed to be angry?

"And you said you always wanted a family. What a better way, right, Iruka," Kakashi asked, obviously taking advantage of Iruka's more or less confused state. A confused Chuunin was easier to persuade.

The brunette had his attention focused on the boy in Kakashi's lap, completely ignoring anything coming out of the Jounin's mouth. He was amazed with how the boy looked so much like his father. His light blue eyes and the way they scrutinized every little thing with curiosity. Iruka suddenly found himself wanting to fawn over the child as if it were his own. Nonetheless, having a whore conceive your child wouldn't have been one of his options. Iruka found himself suddenly disregarding the thought of his lover's encounter with the whore in his past.

Kakashi watched as the other approached them and knelt down at his knee to coo sweetly at the child.

"What's his name?" Iruka asked with a captivated smile and it grew as the boy slid from Kakashi's lap and latched himself onto Iruka in a tight hug. He lifted the boy effortlessly into his arms and carried him about like a kitten.

"Er…" Kakashi started jealously. What was that brat doing, taking all of _his _Iruka's attention away from him? Ever since he went to retrieve the chitlin, they both had an immediate loathing for each other. It was like a surge of negative energy when they made eye contact, and now he could feel the electrical sparks just as strong as he stared at the mini him from over Iruka's shoulder. _That's your future mother you're groping there, punk! _

"Kakashi?" Iruka turned toward the Jounin. "You didn't answer my question."

The older man blinked before shooting up to his feet and smiling broadly. "Oh…uh… What was the question again?"

Iruka sighed exasperatedly. "I think I could have asked the boy myself." He pulled the child away from his shoulder slightly. "So what's your name?"

The mini Kakashi smiled charmingly as he responded promptly. "Karasu." He even sounded like Kakashi when he was a child, which seemed to further irritate the Jounin.

"Karasu, huh?" Iruka chuckled as he started for the kitchen. "Well, Karasu, why don't we go get you some cookies and milk?"

"Muh," Kakashi sulked. "But what about me, Iruka-love? Don't I get a treat…that doesn't necessarily involve cookies or milk? More along the lines of…you?"

Iruka glared at the other as he followed them around the corner into the kitchen. "Kakashi, don't say things like that around your son. That's vulgar!"

"He's not only mine now," Kakashi muttered irritably. "He's _ours_. I thought I already established that earlier." The kid hadn't even been there for an hour and he was already causing problems…like possessing a certain Chuunin's full attention. "Or we could try for our own," he grounded out between his clinched teeth. Maybe it wasn't too late to return the brat to where he came from.

"You know you can't be saying or reading anything filthy around him, don't you?" Iruka would have smiled in relief to the thought. It was nerve racking watching his lover read those orange books at the dinner table or in their bed while he was trying to get intimate with the said pervert. And Kakashi would always come up with the excuse of calling it 'pleasure tips' just so he could finish reading it. Iruka didn't care how useful…and pleasuring those tips were, he could only take so much and their now recent addition to the family drew the line.

Kakashi sighed as he absently brought out his orange book and started reading it in front of his son and Iruka. He almost didn't notice the steak knife being flung at him until he lowered the book to see what that soft whistling sound was. His visible eye widened in trepidation as he dodged it by ducking to the other side of the wall. "Ai, Iruka! I'm sorry. I did it out of habit!"

"Well you better start breaking the habit," Iruka exclaimed, a pretty little pulse point throbbing at his temple.

"H-Hai," Kakashi muttered as he looked to his right at the tip of the steak knife sticking out of the wall, barely grazing his shoulder. He should have really thought twice about going and retrieving the child…or maybe his mother shouldn't have gone off and gotten herself killed. That ungrateful… It wasn't like she was a ninja or anything special like that. Oh no! She just had to be one of the pedestrians that got in the way during a battle. And what's worse, the boy didn't seem all that bothered by the fact that his own mother had been killed. Was she that bad of a mother? He looked up from his contemplation when he heard an insistent knocking at the door. Now who could this be, interrupting his little family time?

"Oi, Kakashi-san. Tsunade-sama has requested to see you. It's about a mission," Genma's voice responded from the other side of the door.

Kakashi's shoulders slumped at the sound of his comrade's voice. How did that senbon-chewing prick always know when he was home? Well, the door wasn't going to answer itself. He gradually made his way to the door and opened it, only to be met, not just by Genma, but by Raidou, Kotetsu, and Izumo as well. "Does it require all four of you to get me?"

"Ur," Raidou started nervously. "Tsunade-sama warned us that you might not be willing to cooperate after just retrieving your kid from Port City. You'd probably want to spend all of your devoted time with Iruka and your son now that…" He trailed off when Kakashi was staring at him as if he had grown two more heads. "Am I wrong, Kakashi-sensei?"

The silver haired-nin shook his head as he stepped out of the apartment and closed the door behind him. "No, you're right. I do want to spend time with my family. But there isn't much I can do if Tsunade-_obaasan_ wishes to see me," he growled, using Naruto's favorite title for her and ignoring the shocked expressions flittering over his comrades faces. He faintly heard Iruka calling for him on the other side of the door, but acted as if he didn't hear. "You guys go on ahead. I promise I'll be there as soon as possible. I need to take care of a few things."

The four jounin stared at the silver haired-nin warily before deciding to believe him and were gone in a flash, all except Genma. The shorter man scrutinized Kakashi for a moment. "You better keep to your word, Kakashi-san. Just because you have a kid now doesn't make you any more special than the rest of us." And with that, Genma was also gone.

"Bastard," Kakashi muttered as he reentered the apartment to confront his lover. "Iruka, I need to go. Tsunade-sama has a mission for me." His voice dripped heavily with disappointment.

Iruka met him around the corner of the kitchen with a concerned frown. Apparently, he didn't miss the tone. "Well…I wish you didn't have to go so soon after returning home."

"The same here," Kakashi smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "I wanted to spend some quality time with you." He nuzzled Iruka's neck as he wrapped his arms around his waist and could feel the heat rise to the Chuunin's neck from blushing. He started to sway with the brunette in the middle of the hallway, as if dancing with him to slow playing music. "I'll return as fast as I can," he whispered against the other's shoulder.

"And that better be alive," Iruka murmured.

They both pulled apart slightly, Kakashi smiling charmingly and Iruka blushing shyly.

Iruka tried to sound stern as he chastised his lover. "Or I'll bring you back to life and kill you again myself."

Kakashi feigned hurt as he buried his face into Iruka's chest. "My own lover learning a forbidden jutsu! I never thought I'd see the day!"

The Chuunin waved his arms about frantically, trying to keep his balance. "Ah! Kakashi, stop it! You're being silly." He was finally able to place his hands firmly against his lover's shoulders and tried to push him away, while at the same time laughing as the Jounin tickled his chest by rubbing his nose into it.

There was a cough from behind Iruka, causing both men to tense and look up at the boy.

Kakashi gave a bemused expression from over Iruka's shoulder and snorted. _Brat. _He pulled away from his lover to approach his son and knelt down to his level. He gave a fake grin as he patted Karasu on the head, running his fingers through the silver tresses _almost _affectionately. "I have to go on a mission, squirt. So I want you to take care of your new…mother for me." He had to restrain a snicker when he could feel Iruka's glare boring into the back of his head. "You got that?"

Karasu resisted the urge to turn his head away and sulk indignantly. Who did his father think he was? Him? He would definitely take care of his new_ mother_. At least this one was willing to take care of him in return, unlike his real mother who couldn't have given a flying rat's ass about him. He gave a curt nod and a frown, but it didn't stop his father from giving him another pat to the head. He wished everyone would stop treating him like a dog. Karasu watched as the Copy-nin stepped away from him and approach Iruka once again.

"And I'm trusting you to take care of my son," Kakashi teased with a grin. He then leaned in until his lips were brushing over Iruka's ear and whispered, "And I love you."

Before Iruka could respond to that, Kakashi was gone in a puff of smoke. "…you…too?"

Karasu sighed. His old man didn't even have the decency to wait for a response. He could already see he would have to be the one to keep this family in order, even though he didn't have much experience with one. He approached the tanned Chuunin cautiously before reaching out to take his hand and wrapped his fingers tightly around it.

Iruka looked down at the boy with a smile, if not a bit of shock. He wasn't expecting the boy to try and comfort him like that. "Are you finished with your snack?" he asked. "I can take you to the park if you like."

"No, it's alright. I'd rather stay here with you." Karasu smiled sweetly before tugging on Iruka's hand to lead him into the living room.

Iruka blinked. "Wouldn't you like to get to know other children your own age?" He was a bit baffled when the boy didn't respond and just urged him down onto the couch and then approached the bookshelf. "Karasu?"

The boy still didn't respond. He was looking through a collection of books, which fortunately weren't Kakashi's set of_ Icha Icha. _Iruka thanked what ever deity there was mentally. The outrageously orange books had been placed on the very top shelf where they would barely be noticed by roaming eyes when they had guests over. He looked up from his contemplation when something solid and flat was placed on his lap. It was an ordinary, brown, child's book with golden lettering that read _The Dog Who Loved a Cat_. It was actually a bizarre love story between two animals that couldn't love each other because of their species. It was Kakashi's childhood book, if Iruka recalled his lover's words correctly. 'It was my favorite story when I was a kid. Mother used to read it to me all the time.'

"I don't want to know the other kids," Karasu spoke, breaking through the man's mental barriers again. "I'll do that when you enroll me into the academy. Can you read to me instead?" Karasu climbed onto the couch and snuggled up against Iruka's side, as if he had done this a million times before. Apparently, he was taking advantage of this family situation.

Wait! Enroll him into the academy? "You want to be a ninja?" Iruka asked as he wrapped his arm around Karasu's shoulder and leaned back into the couch.

The boy nodded with an 'uh-huh'. "I want to protect people…like father does." Even though he didn't take it as hard as he should have when his mother died, he still felt a pang of guilt for not being there with her when the attack took place in the village. Images of people trying to flee and others dying had slightly troubled him, even if he hadn't been there to witness it. And though she didn't show any signs of acknowledging his existence, she fed him, clothed him, and gave him a bed…he at least owed her some vengeance for that.

Night slowly rolled in, taking the morning's place and decorating the skies with its stars and bright white globe. Iruka had always preferred the night. It was much more brilliant than the day, especially when the stars were shining clearly and he could see the streaks of shooting stars. Too bad he couldn't stay up all night to witness the nighttime activities. He had school in the morning…which was going to prove difficult because he would need someone to watch over Karasu if Kakashi didn't return tonight.

Iruka moved away from the bedroom window with a sigh and sat on their shared futon. He peered over at the boy snoozing peacefully and gingerly ran his fingers through the soft, silver tresses. _Ours. _Kakashi's words practically sung into his head. "Ours," he repeated with a small smile.

To Be Continued.

A/N: This was going to be a one-shot, but ended up turning into a two-shot. XDDD Okay, I know it's not that funny. XP The next chapter isn't going to be as long…I don't think. Either way though, if you enjoyed this, please leave a review and tell me if I should update or not. If no, then I really don't see the point of putting up the second part and I'll just delete it, thinking it was sucky. XD


	2. Chapter 2

Cling

Part 2

XxX

Much to Iruka's chagrin, Kakashi didn't come home that night and he couldn't find anyone free to take care of Karasu. He also wasn't about to leave an eight year unattended in his apartment. It wasn't that he didn't trust the child; he seemed quite capable of taking care of himself. It was other people that he didn't trust. Many could take advantage of a naïve young boy, if Iruka could even consider Karasu naïve. In less than three hours that morning, he found out more about Karasu than he'd like to know. That boy was _far_ from naïve. What would you expect with having a whore for a mother though? Not that he was accusing her of being a bad mother, but the kid knew more than he should at his age.

At breakfast, it was like talking to someone he had known for years…only Karasu was not someone he had known and he was commenting about how he agreed with Iruka that Kakashi should have wore protection even if his mother had told him she couldn't become pregnant and that she should have taken responsibility for telling Kakashi about him. Needless to say, Iruka had lost his appetite.

"Are you about ready," Iruka asked as he stepped into the bedroom, just in time to see Karasu pull on his turtleneck sweater and straighten it.

Karasu nodded. "Yes…" He looked up when he heard a chuckle and tilted his head in confusion. "What's so funny?"

Iruka walked pass him into the bathroom and came back with a comb. "Your hair is a mess." He carefully pulled the comb through the tangles until it looked decent enough for public appearance. After he was finished, he still wasn't quite satisfied with the style. He might as well have been Kakashi's twin…that is if Karasu was twenty years older. Iruka clucked his tongue as he went back into the bathroom and this time brought back two red hairclips.

"Muh. I don't want to wear those. I'll look like a girl!" Karasu took a step back from the Chuunin and put his hands up to defend his hair.

Iruka blinked in feigned ignorance. "Oh, you're not a girl? And here I thought I was finally raising a daughter."

The boy glowered at the man indignantly. "That's not funny," Karasu exclaimed and was about to tackle the Chuunin when he remembered the dreaded hairclips and started to make a run for it. He swore that he hadn't even blinked before Iruka blocked his only way of escaping.

XxX

Karasu huffed as he fidgeted with the hairclips holding the bangs back behind his left ear. Of course, he couldn't do much with them considering Iruka was carrying him like a two year old against his side and Karasu really didn't want to get caught taking them out just so he could be scolded. He found that Iruka was quite convincing when he was angered… proof of that was still sticking out of the kitchen wall.

"Stop messing with those clips," Iruka chastised.

The boy reluctantly pulled his hand away to toy with the pouches on Iruka's Chuunin vest instead. "I don't want them there. They make me look like a girl." He gave Iruka his best pout, though he should have known it would never work on a school teacher.

Iruka frowned, indicating that the expression had no effect on him. "Nice try. You learn a thing or two when you've been a sensei for ten years."

"That long, huh?" Karasu grinned. Maybe he'd be able to win this battle after all. "I heard teaching puts strain on a lot of people. But not you, oh no. You must take really good care of yourself. You look like you're in your early twenties." He grinned charmingly. "Woman and men must practically fall at your feet…"

"That's quite enough of that, Karasu," Iruka cut the boy off with a stern tone. "You're not getting those hairclips out."

Damn! This man was harder to persuade than a brick wall. How did his father do it? Karasu gave a defeated sigh and rested his chin against Iruka's shoulder. "Can you lock me up in the broom closet?"

Iruka chuckled. "It's not that bad. I'm sure the girls will think it's adorable." If they were anything like Sakura, then they would definitely fawn over him. He felt the boy tense in his arms to those words, but kept quite. Iruka understood that most boys his age could care less about girls and would rather play in the mud and/or catch frogs, but not Karasu. He didn't like girls, mud, or frogs!

When they finally arrived, the classroom was still empty. Karasu gave a sigh of relief. He wasn't ready to have twenty or some odd pairs of eyes staring at him curiously. "How many students do you teach?"

Iruka contemplated for a moment, running his students' names off in his head. "Twenty-three if I'm not mistaken."

Karasu allowed the man to carry him for a bit longer before being put down next to the teacher's desk. He watched Iruka grab a thin blue book that had _Roll Call _labeled on the front of it and then lean back against the front of the desk. "Will I have you for a teacher if I get enrolled here?"

"If you start now, no you won't." Iruka seemed completely absorbed with the blue book as he said this. "You might get Genma or Shikamaru." And as if realization dawned on him, he looked at the boy and smiled thoughtfully. "Why, did you want me to be your sensei?"

Karasu gave a frustrated expression, the corner of his lip sticking out in a pout. "Yes, but I guess it can't be helped." He took a seat in Iruka's chair and faced the chalkboard. He read over the notes that consisted mainly of pictures of ninja with arrows and words pointing to certain areas of the body.

Iruka didn't disturb him. He'd just allow the boy to do as he pleased…for the moment anyways. He looked up as the bell rang and his students started to leak their way into the room from the hall and take their assigned seats. When they were all seated, they gave their complete attention to him, some less enthusiastic than the others. And like most days, Iruka almost gave a sneer at his less obedient students, just waiting to see what prank they had up their sleeves today. But none of them would match up to Naruto or Konohamaru.

"Well, class," Iruka started, a grin spreading across his lips making some of his students squirm with trepidation. "I have someone I need to introduce before we get started." He noted how the ones that were fidgeting gave a sigh and slumped down in their seats with relief. You'd think he sentenced them to death sometimes.

He approached his chair and swiveled it around to face his students. "This, class, is my adopted son, Karasu. He's not from here, so I'd appreciate it if you made him feel at home."

Karasu flinched as he listened to the girls squealing and cooing in his direction. He heard two girls at the front discussing his 'oh too adorable' hairclips and a few other boys muttering how pretty he was and that they were certain he was a girl. He gave a half-hearted glare at Iruka from the corner of his eye and pulled his turtleneck collar up over his nose to hide his blush. He was so going to make that man pay.

When lunch arrived, all hell broke loose…well for one eight year old anyway.

Iruka had packed him a nice lunch, which he chose to eat outside. It was onigiri, miso soup, and a few pieces of tempura. He remembered Iruka mentioning that morning that Kakashi hated tempura and Karasu couldn't exactly blame him. It was greasy, but he could tolerate it. It was also during this nice lunch, that a few boys had the bad idea to_ flirt_ with him. They were the same boys from earlier that were arguing over whether he was a girl or not. Maybe he should have taken up on Iruka's offer to eat in the teacher's lounge, but didn't he say that he wanted to get to know the other children now that he was here?

One of them stepped up and tapped annoyingly on one of the hairclips. He had a face like a blonde teen Karasu had met in Port City once, emerald green eyes, and spiky black hair with a high pony tail that resembled Iruka's. "You must be a girl! Why would a boy wear such girly hairclips?"

Karasu snapped at him, throwing his half-eaten tempura at him. "I'm NOT a girl and they're not girly! They're just to keep the hair out of my eyes!"

The boy dodged the piece of food and sneered. "You're a feisty one. I like you." He leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees while grinning at him. His two friends, who had been standing forgotten behind him, started laughing.

"Don't be an idiot, Toka (1). He just said that he wasn't a girl. Leave him be." This boy had freakish violet hair that hung down to his shoulders, curling slightly at the tips. His eyes had a reddish tint to them and he seemed to frown constantly, despite how he laughed, but his laughter was eerie anyway.

The other boy, who was just nodding, had average, short, brown hair, brown eyes and was the shortest out of all of them.

"Why don't you shut up?" Toka spat from over his shoulder and took a seat next to Karasu. "He's really cute for a boy."

Karasu blinked and blushed. This raven haired boy was either very bold or very stupid and he was thinking that the latter was more fitting. He quickly got to his feet, leaving his lunch behind and ambled back into the academy to find Iruka. Maybe it was a bad idea to try and get acquainted with the other students. He also hoped to never meet that boy again!

The day finally ended and Iruka was pleasantly surprised with how well behaved Karasu had been, despite a few vivid words shared with a group of boys, which left him blushing for the rest of the day. Iruka was starting to believe that he was missing something when one of the boys that was on the verge of matching Naruto and Konohamaru with his shenanigans, started to actually flirt with Karasu. It had started out as simple, inconspicuous touches to the shoulders and back, but then it went too low and Iruka had to put a stop to it, especially after Karasu had given him the most pitiful, pleading look for help.

Karasu stood behind Iruka warily as he watched Toka throw his kunai at a log target and then retrieve it just to throw it again. He listened to him count how many times he had already thrown it; at 150 he turned toward Iruka and approached him slowly. "I'm done, sensei." He kept his eyes down to the ground, completely avoiding eye contact with the Chuunin and Karasu.

"Good," Iruka stated in a reprimanding tone. "Now will you keep your hands to yourself?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei," Toka responded. He gave a quick glance at Karasu and then up at Iruka.

"You may go home now."

Karasu didn't want to believe the punishment was severe enough, especially after the look he was given from Toka before he disappeared behind the wall. He was brought out of his thoughts when Iruka asked if he was ready to go home. He nodded with a placid expression and grasped the man's hand.

That night they ate Teriyaki Chicken with Japanese vegetables in a mild, sweet sauce for supper and then Karasu promptly fell to sleep in Iruka's lap on the floor while he was grading papers. His head rested against Iruka's left shoulder and his legs wrapped around the man's waist. Iruka's left arm held him comfortably against his chest.

It was peaceful. Nothing but the sounds of a red ink pen scratching across paper, Karasu's slow, even breaths, and maybe the random creaking of the building settling into place could be heard throughout the apartment.

Iruka could have followed Karasu's example to sleep in all the unnatural silence. He was used to constantly hearing Kakashi's voice or his strange habit of walking heavily on the floors, as if trying to annoy the people in the apartment below them. He did have complaints from the occupants about it before. He looked up at the door longingly. Kakashi also had a habit of not telling him how long he would be gone. "Bastard," he muttered.

He dropped his pen onto the table after grading the last paper and carefully lifted himself from the floor while trying to hold Karasu at the same time. Iruka hummed a soft tune as the boy shifted, indicating he wasn't thrilled with the movement, but fell back asleep nonetheless. He lowered the boy into the bed before stretching out beside him with a content sigh.

It only seemed like seconds from when he fell asleep and when he was reawakened by a sharp creak of rusty hinges of a door opening and then closing. Iruka knew he had nothing to worry about as the familiar sound of heavy feet hit the floor and walked into the bedroom. He relaxed even more when the bed shifted with the extra weight and a body slid up behind him and nuzzled his neck. He didn't even notice that the boy had curled up against his front in the middle of the night until Kakashi wrapped his arm around them both and hugged them against his chest.

Kakashi knew his lover was awake by the hitch of his breath when he made contact. "I've missed you," he whispered into the Chuunin's ear.

"Hmm. You too," Iruka purred and arched his back into Kakashi like a cat. It wasn't long until he was comfortably asleep again.

XxX

"You're awake," Iruka smiled dizzily as Kakashi planted butterfly kisses all over his face. "That tickles," he weakly pushed at his lover's chest, only to have his hands pressed down against his own chest.

Kakashi whimpered pathetically as he wrapped his arms around Iruka's back and moved to lie in between his legs. "Mmm, I've missed you, Iruka. I want you!"

Iruka laughed as he brought his hands up to run his fingers through the silver nest. "Kakashi, your son!" He started to squirm, making the Jounin grow harder.

"He's in the living room watching TV," Kakashi grunted before he started leaving a trail of saliva up Iruka's neck with his tongue.

"So?" Iruka practically melted at the attention. "He'll hear us." His breath came out in heated pants as his legs were abruptly spread open by the other's hands, causing him to become more aroused.

Kakashi almost had his lover's pants pulled off when someone's voice broke that train of thought.

"I hope you're wearing protection." Karasu stood in the doorway with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face.

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched as he looked up at his son and then over at his lover. "I can't wait until he has friends. Or we could clean out that storage room and lock him in there."

Iruka laughed. "Or we could lock _you_ in there."

The Jounin snorted as he rolled off his lover to lie next to him and watched as his son climbed onto the bed to be pulled into Iruka's arms. He propped his head up with his hand to observe his lover and son talk quietly, and every now and then listen to the boy's giggles. He hated to admit it, but he felt complete. It was a pleasantly warm feeling that pooled into his stomach as he watched them. A smile unwarily made its way across his lips.

Kakashi had a family.

The End

A/N: Why does everything happen in the exact opposite of what I say? Simple, fate just likes to mess with me. Bah! This chapter was supposed to be shorter, but then I was supposed to make this fic longer wasn't I? Meh. Nothing works out as planned. I just found this to be the perfect ending though…sort of. ;;;

(1) Toka – Zhe thought this up…because I asked her what name would you think of for a Iruka and Obito spawn…which really isn't their spawn. XD She thought of it by combining the last of their names. ObiTO and IruKA. Worked for me. I even went to see if it was a real word in Japanese. Apparently, it is. It means 'river crossing'. She liked it even more and so gave it another reason to stick. I hate to say it, but I fell in love with him. XDDD I might have to draw Karasu and him together. Hee hee!

8


	3. Chapter 3

Cling

Epilogue

XxX

Two Months Later…

Iruka realized it was the weekend as soon as his eyes opened to the bright sunlight filling the bedroom. That meant no school. He almost felt like jumping out of bed and crying for joy like a little kid. He didn't know why though? It wasn't like any other weekend. No sooner had he thought of this than he realized Kakashi was missing and no tell-tale sign of the television was coming from Karasu's bedroom.

He slid out of bed and made his way to the kitchen, half-expecting to find a massacre. Usually the only reason for such an occurrence was because Kakashi woke up before him and was hungry right _at_ _that moment_! But, there was no one there. Maybe the living room? Nope! No one there either. Iruka huffed in exasperation and made his way back to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. "Where are they," he murmured while looking down into the black liquid. "They really need to start leaving a note."

Iruka hadn't even taken a sip of his java when he heard a cry from a child and then said child burst through the door like death itself was after him. "Iruka, tell otousan that other boys can't be molesting me!" Tears were threatening to spill down his cheeks as he pointed back toward the living room where Kakashi was coming in.

The Chuunin sputtered at the statement. "What do you mean?"

"It was Toka! We were at the park and he wouldn't stop _touching _me again! Otousan said Toka was just flirting with me...just like that day at the academy," he exclaimed, tears splashing from his eyes as he clinched them shut.

Iruka looked up just as his lover entered and glared ominously. He swore he could have almost felt hell freeze over from the withering look he received from the Jounin. "You were encouraging it?!"

Kakashi took a moment to recompose himself. "Eh? The kid was asking for it." He peered down at his son with a sneer. "And anyways, I like that kid, Toka. He reminds me of someone."

_Gee, I wonder who? _Iruka thought sarcastically. "Kakashi, I'm trying to teach my students how to defend themselves during a battle. Not to molest their enemies!"

"Don't worry," Kakashi said with a grin, even though the only way they could tell was from the inverted U of his eye. "I didn't let it get out of hand."

Iruka balled his hands into fists. "Kakashi!"

Both Kakashi and Karasu flinched, but only one of them started to back away in trepidation until he was cornered between the stove, wall, and an angry Chuunin. "I-Iruka-love…Now calm down. I wouldn't let anything happen to our baby." Apparently it wasn't enough to convince the brunette as a tanned fist met Kakashi's visible eye and it immediately started to turn an ugly black, purple, and blue.

"You know very well I will not tolerate such behavior." Iruka huffed. "I don't care if it's an innocent touch on the arm. Don't let it happen again! And Toka _will_ be punished as soon as class starts Monday." He lifted Karasu into his arms and carried him into their bedroom.

Kakashi caught a glimpse of Karasu giving him a triumphant smirk from over Iruka's shoulder and glowered as best he could with his bruised eye.

XxX

Two Years Later…

Iruka bit his tongue in deep concentration. "There!" He pulled away and gave a satisfied grin. He then looked into the wide, wavering eyes that were staring back at him intently, expecting some sort of response for all of his hard work.

"Does it look alright?" Karasu leaped to his feet to stand in front of the body mirror hanging on his bedroom wall. He practically looked giddy with delight as he peered at his brand new, glittering red hair clips in his reflection. "Will he like it?"

"I'm sure," Iruka smiled thoughtfully as he ran his fingers through the back part of Karasu's hair. To say the least, he had been a bit surprised to find out that Karasu had gotten upset when his old, average looking hairclips had broken while playing with Toka at the academy playground.

However, what perplexed him the most was the fact that Toka had purposefully failed two years of ninja exams just so he could graduate with Karasu. Iruka had started to wonder, because despite Toka being a prankster, he was a straight A student, but the boy's grades just dropped dramatically. He had even been expecting to get frequent visits from the boy's parents, but not once had they ever dropped by to show their disapproval of his 'poor learning skills' and he was fairly certain the boy _did _have parents. Did they understand his reasoning behind it? Iruka could only hope. And Toka probably wouldn't have failed the first year if he hadn't found out that Karasu was going to wait until the year after to get into Iruka's class.

Karasu had even been touched by the dark haired boy's compulsive behavior and finally accepted his more or less vigorous advances. He had taken Toka's 'pretty' compliments to heart as well and took extra care to make his hair nice each day or at least to the point that his bangs didn't cover his eyes. Iruka could almost swear he _was_ raising a daughter.

Usually, during recess, Iruka would watch them interact with each other from an inconspicuous distance, and sometimes he would doubt it was playing considering how Toka would straddle him from behind when rough housing. He never worried for long though. Toka would be up in a shot and running off while yelling for Karasu to catch him. He later found out it was just a rougher version of tag because there would be other boys joining in the fray.

And then there was Kakashi. Karasu's over, Chuunin-possessive father. At least the man had gradually become more like a father instead of a full grown, spoiled brat. He started cherishing the moments they spent with each other, even when it was as simple as watching television or reading a book. He would cuddle him, comment on every accomplished and/or failed endeavor, and cook for him; just about everything a father would take time off to do for his son. Kakashi had even commented on how the boy looked with the hairclips. It wasn't 'pretty', much to the boy's relief, but rather adorable and then proceeded to spout off at how Iruka had always made him wear hairclips as well when he wasn't wearing his forehead protector, which was always only half the time.

Iruka looked up as Karasu rushed pass him into the living room and leaped into Kakashi's lap. "How do these look, otousan? They're glittery this time!"

The Chuunin smiled when he heard a soft, bellowing laugh from his lover and a high pitched squeal of laughter from the boy.

"Hey, Iruka-love. Maybe we should get him a glittery dress as well," Kakashi suggested with a bark of laughter.

"Good idea, Kakashi," Iruka teased as he entered the leaving room and made himself comfortable under his lover's arm.

Karasu responded with an indignant thwap against his father's head. "I'm not wearing any stickin' dress! I don't care how much Toka will like it!"

Iruka snickered as he tugged on Karasu's shirt. "You about ready to go?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically as he grabbed his satchel off the floor near his father's feet and ambled toward the door.

"Love you!" Kakashi gave his most cherished grin to Iruka before kissing him softly and slowly.

Iruka sighed contently before getting to his feet and leaving with Karasu. But before he could close the door, Karasu had run back into the apartment and threw his arms around Kakashi's waist, the Copy-nin just as surprised as Iruka. "I love you…dad." And without another word, Karasu was gone and so was Iruka.

Kakashi sat alone in the apartment, staring at his trembling hands and thinking. When had he decided to become a father; to protect a life that would take his place in the world some day? Simple. It was Iruka. Iruka was the answer to everything and anything. He always spent his devoted time trying to convince the Chuunin that he was more than a Jounin screwed up in the head. If Iruka wanted him to be a good father, a better lover, or just someone he could confide in, then Kakashi would achieve those goals at some point, and he did. And now that he had reached them, he couldn't be any happier.

Fin


End file.
